Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The invention relates to apparatus for feeding flux
powder into the mould`o~ a continuous ~teel casting plant.
In continuous casting plant it is a common practice to
convey a flux powder from a storage hopper directly into the
mould by means of a mechanical screw feeder. However, this prac-
tice has the disadvantage of requiring a large capacity storage
hopper to be mounted on the casting platform in close proximity
with the mould, and it also involves providing a screw feeder
which can negotiate curves. The presence of the storage hopper
reduces the working space available on the platform and adversely
affects acces to the plant. At the ~ame time the curves in the
screw feeder are responsible for a high rate of wear of the
screw which therefore requires frequent replacements. Conse~
quently the arrangement i~ there~ore inconvenien-t and expensive.
It has also been proposed to convey the flux powder
-through a trough from one hopper to another hopper which is ~ ;
mounted at a 10~7er level and which co-operates with a vibrator
and feeder which latter carries the flux powder suspended in
air to above the surface of the pool o~ metal in the mould.
~0 This equipment is open to the objection that the introduction
of air into the mould cavity creates the risk of oxidation of the
steel. There i~ also an undesirable evolution of dust which
interfere~ with the possibility of keeping the mould interior
under ob~ervation.
It is an object of the present invention to a~oid the
drawbacks of known types of feeder for flux powder and to provide
feed apparatus which does not interfere wqth the accessibility
of -the plant on the ca~ting platform, and which will also intro-
duce the flux powder into the mould ~o that it is well di~tribu-
ted whilst at the same time e~olving no dust~ Moreover, the con-
templated feed apparatus is to be inexpensive and ~ot liable to
cause operational trouble.
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For achieving these objects the present invention
provide apparatus for feeding flux powder into the mould of a
continuous casting plant for steel, comprising at least one
relatively large capacity storage hopper for flux powder, a
pneumatic conveyor for conveying flux powder from the at least
one storage hopper to a relatively small capacity feed hopper
in which the powder is separated from the pneumatic carrier
medium, and a mechanical feeder extending from the feed hopper
near the mould for delivering flux powder therefrom to the
pool of metal in the mould.
According to the present invention there is also
provided a continuous casting plant for steel including a
casting mold and apparatus for feeding flux powder into the mold
comprising at least one relatively large capacity storage hopper
for flux powder located beyond the immediate control and
operating neighbourhood of the mold, a pneumatic conveyor for
conveying the flux powder from the at least one storage hopper
to a relatively small capacity feed hopper in which the powder
is separated from the pneumatic carrier medium in proximity
to -the mold and a mechanical feeder extending from the feed
hopper near the mold for delivering flux powder therefrom to a
delivery area above the surface of the pool of metal in the mold.
The one or more large capacity storage hoppers may
thus be located outside the working area of the foundrymen at
the mould, in a suitable and ixed location, for instance at
some distance from the mould on the casting platform since the
method of conveying the powder pneumatically is capable of
spanning substantial distances and even curved paths create no
problems or difficulties. Consequently the available space on
the casting platform, particularly in direct proximity with the
mould is much extended and the accident risk due to the presence
of supply pipes and so forth on the floor is much reduced. The
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feed hopper which should be near the ~ould can ~e of fairly
small size because it need not hold more than a limited quantity
of flux powder and o-therwise it need merely provide for the
separation of the powder from the conveying gas. From the feed
hopper a mechanical feeder leads to the zone above the surface
of the metal pool in the mould on which the powder is to be
scattered. The mechanical feeder carries the powder only for
a short distance along a preferably straight path so that the
mechanical parts of the feeder will not be subject to much wear,
and their service life will be correspondingly prolonged.
Moreover, such a mechanical feeder does not evolve dust and
the observability of the mould interior will therefore be much
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improved. The pneumatic conveyor will preferably use air ag
the conveying carrier gas which can then simply be allowed to
escape from the feed hopper near the mould.
The mechanical feeder may consist of a substantially
straight rect~linear trough containing a feed screw. In order
to further improve the conditions of space at the mould the
feed hopper may be mounted on the tundi6h carriaget as~uming
that the plant is equipped with such a carriage. The holding
capacity of the feed hopper 3hould with advantage amount to
between 5 and 15 Kg. In order to ensure an even dis-tribution
of the powder charge in the mould, the mecha~ical feeder may
comprise a plurality of ~imilar conveyor troughs which may
preferably be movable over the surface of the metal pool to
ensure that the flux powder is distributed on the surface in a
layer of even thickness. This can be done by permitting the
feeder to slew in a horizontal plane~ Moreover, to permit the
feed rate of the flux powder to be exactly controlled to requi-
rement~, the conveyor equipment may be provided with conventional
meterning devices which in the case of the pneumatic con~eyor
may be a valve controlling the admi~sion rate o~ the conveying
air and in the case of the mechanical feeder a variable speed
geared motor for driving the feed scre~
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be
more particularly described by way of example with reference to
the accompanying drawing, the single ~igure of which is a view
of the feeding equipment in association with a continuous casting
plant which is only partly shown.
~ rom a ladle 1 steel 2 teems into a tundish 3. The
steel is then poured from the tundish 3 through a pouring tube -
4 into the feedhead of a continuous casting mould 5. The surface
6 of t~e molten metal in the mould is covered by a layer 7 of
flux powder and slag. T~e tundish 3 is mounted on a tundish
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carriage 11 which is adap-ted to traverse across the casting
platform 10 on a track, and which is moved into casting posi-
tion before starting the pour. Usually the carriage 11 will
also be equipped with jacks~ not ~hown, for lifting and lower-
the tundish to lower the pouring tube into the cavity ofthe mould.
: During continuation of the pour flux powder must
be continuously deposited on the surface of the metal pool~
For this purpose flux p~wder 14 is eonveyed into a feed hopper
16 near the mould, by the admis~ion of air 13 as a pneumatic
carrier medium into a pneumatic conveyor 15 compri~ing a pipe
15', from a large capacity storage hopper 12, for instance
holding se~eral tonnes and located outside the immediate working
neighbourhood of the casting plant. The feed hopper 16 has a
relatively small capacity, but it should hold at leas-t as much
flux powder as is required for a single pour. ~he quantity of
flux powder conveyed pneumaticall~ can be controlled by means
of a valve 23 controlling the admission of the conveying air.
This air is separated from the powder i~ the feed hopper 16 and
escapes through an opening 17~ ~he feed hopper 16 which holds
about 5 to 15 Kg. of powder is mounted near the mould on the
tundish carriage 11 on the opposite ~ide to that from which the
foundrymen supervise the pour, and this hopper therefore is
traversed together with the -tundishO Consequently a quick
release coupling 20 is provided between the pneumatic conveyor
15 and the hopper 16.
~ 'rom the feed hopper 16 the flux powder is conveyed to
a point above the surface 6 of the metal pool by a ~traight
mechanical feeder 18 comprising a conventional feed screw 18'l
revolving in a trough 18l, the feed rate being controlled by a
geared variable speed motor 24 which drives the feed screw. The
linearity of the mechanical feeder 18 substantially improves its
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durability. Vepe~ding on the consumption of flux powder, i.e.
on the format o~ the continuou~ casting that is being produced,
one or several such mechanical feeder~ may be provided.
Moreover, for the purpose of evenly distributin~ the flux powder
on ~he surface of the metal pool the feeder or feeders may be
movable above the surface of the pool. Such motion may be pro-
vided by a drive means, not shown9 for slewing th~ feeder or
feeders in a horizon-tal plane about a pivot at 21.
The invention is not intended to be confined in scope
to the described embodiment. For instance in a multiple strand
casting plant the storage hopper 12 may supply flux powder to
several feed hoppers 16, each associated with one of the moulds.
Moreover, several storage hoppers 12 may be provided for flux
powders of different compositions. Por the casting of a spe-
cific quality of steel the mo~ suitable flux powder can then
be pneumatically conveyed from -the stora~e hopper containing
that powder to -the feed hopper near the mould. The same procedure
may be adopted if in the course of a pour the use of different
flux powders i~ desirable, for instance powders of different
fluxing properties at the beginning of the pour and midway
through the pour. Different powder compositions may also be
stored in a compartmentalised storage hopper fitted with several
conveying pipes to the feed hopper near the mould~ Different
flux powders drawn from different storage hoppers or different
compartments in a storage hopper could also be mi~ed before
entering the feed hopper.
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